As with every president, that means some people are happy and some people are not. And that’s exactly what you’d expect -- even hope for -- in a democracy.

The president-elect standing on the mall in our nation’s capital taking the oath of office is a time-honored tradition. It’s a strong signal that our ideal of democracy is a living, breathing process that draws people of all political stripes together under one flag. Since our first inauguration of George Washington in 1789, the national event has served as an enduring symbol of America’s commitment to the peaceful transfer of power.

Many places in the world don’t have peaceful transfers of power. Many don’t get any say in who their leaders are at all. It’s because we believe in the promise of democracy -- that the nation looks upon the inauguration as an important and essential part of who we are and what we stand for. It’s a symbol that says come tomorrow, America will still be America.